Princeton Tec Quad review - FR

[Quickbeam]

PT Quad

Need to do more runtimes to investigate whats going on with the "current regulator" that is supposed to be in this light.....

Enjoy!
Doug P.

 

[LightHearted]

Very interesting. It looks like the Quad has 65% more throw than their 8 LED Corona and about the same overall output. It must use the new(er) Nichia CS LEDs. Nice.

:goodjob:

 

[LightObsession]

The throw and total output numbers for this light are pretty impressive. Thanks for the review. I like the floody beam patteren too.

 

[Commander]

It must use the new(er) Nichia CS LEDs. Nice.

:goodjob:

I sure hope so!!

Can anyone confirm this?

 

[DarthLumen]

Nice review Doug!

I hope Princeton Tec address the issue with the high setting not being regulated. Moreover, I hope this is an isolated case.

Thanks again!

 

[Lips]

Great Review

Pre Ordered this light for working on equipment. Hope the high is regulated also. What a bummer if its not! Please retest so we can let everyone know if they are slipping a fast one by with the regulation circuit not working on the high setting. :huh2:

 

[CroMAGnet]

Hey there Doug! Great review as usual, thanks.

Can you please post a few impressions/comparisons to the TakTikka Series especially the new 80% brighter version if possible?

Seems like a contender due to regulation but :shrug:

 

[Quickbeam]

Re-ran on medium and it was regulated... for a while... High does not seem to be regulated at all. I need to contact them about it. I'll get to it sometime soon.

 

[jar3ds]

don't get me wrong but does it really matter if the high setting is regulated or not? Because high will be as bright as the the light can possiblely go... reguardless of regulation... if you need a constant more economical brightness medium is right there...

i personally only us NiMH and Lithium E2's in my EOS... the regulation with those battery types is perfect the way the light is... i think high needs to be that high... you need to get more throw out of those 5mm LED's and hince compete with other optic/reflector head...

I'd like to check out a new quad but its hard to know what you'll get once it shows up... will it be the new LED's?

one thing that i really wish that headlamps had was a red filter or REALLY low setting... the low on the EOS is still really bright...

 

[Lips]

The Quads low is kinda bright. I like it alot. Hope we get confirmation on whether the high is regulated or not.

 

[jar3ds]

we did

it is regulated... but they have its output so much that alkaline batteries can't really keep up... its on the review on flashlightsreivew.com its at the bottom of the page...

you'll get regulation with lithiums and nimh...

 

[Lips]

Awesome, Thanks

 

[Quickbeam]

Yes - review updated with new info from PT - basically they switched to the newer high output nichias last minute and that impacted the regulation curves.

 

[CroMAGnet]

one thing that i really wish that headlamps had was a red filter or REALLY low setting... the low on the EOS is still really bright...

The Petzl PacTikka Plus has the flip up red lense and will be out in a month or so with the new 80% brighter upgrade.

I was at REI today and got to check out the Quad and the new Zipka which REI claimed to be the 80% brighter version.

The quad looked brighter on low than the Zipka on high!! The Quad on high was very impressive. And the L92 batteries help with runtime numbers; 1hr of Regulated high output batteries and probably extended medium level runtime.

I'd like to get both and compare them with practical use.

 

[jar3ds]

yep... i'll be looking into the tactikka models once they are 80%...

the flip down red lense is awesome!

 

[offroadcmpr]

If you are planning to use lithiums or nimh, I would buy the light now.
It sounds like they are going to decrease the current, and therefor the brightness so that high will be regulated on alkalines.

"Initial testing on the Quad was not done with the Nichia super bright leds that we are using now. This was a last minute change as the super brights were just coming into production. The end result was less current regulation. With the superbrights you get 7-10 mins of regulation on high. If you use Lithium AA the current regulation goes up to 1 hour on high. We are addressing the situation to see about adjusting the regulation which in turn will decrease the lumen output. As soon I have have more info I will let you know. We will be updating this info on our website and in consumer materials."

So if you want this ultra bright model, get it now.

 

[CroMAGnet]

I almost hate to say this but I think the high might be too bright.

As it stands now, what do you think the High-level LUX would be if compared to the medium regulated LUX, after about 4 or 5 hrs on MEDIUM?

Would there even be a high? :shrug:

 

[LightHearted]

So, If I buy one now before PT readjusts the regulation will it be regulated on Hi with NIMH? Anyone know for sure? I really like the idea of a very bright flood.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Lips]

The PT Apex for $65 is awesome. Bigger than the Quad but you get 4.5hrs regu on luxeon and 14hrs on the Leds which are virtually as bright as the Quad's Led's using Lithium. Quad on high 1hr using lithium pales in comparison. Wish they both would go dimmer though!

 

[CroMAGnet]

The PT Apex for $65 is awesome. Bigger than the Quad but you get 4.5hrs regu on luxeon and 14hrs on the Leds which are virtually as bright as the Quad's Led's using Lithium. Quad on high 1hr using lithium pales in comparison. Wish they both would go dimmer though!

Comparing apples to oranges.

The Apex is a good spot/thrower. With a pretty useless flood IMHO. The problem I found with the flood is that it spreads to the sides almost as much as forward and creates a hellacious glare for anyone walking next to the apex. Really blows everyones night vision or at least it blew mine when I was near the user. (It was a real bugger on our last night-hike)

Also it has a heavy pack on the back and uncomfortable balance. Again IMHO

I really like the small front mounted battery pack headlamps. These are perfect for flooding out in front of you and have a long runtime for real world use. Good lo low level and good high level. Having the more efficient 80% brighter/longer runtimes of the Tikka series should be just perfect. Now if we can get rid of the angry blue. (I'm going to attempt another mod using some very floody and powerfull 5mm LEDs that I have. I'm hoping for a huge improvement. Just need to find the time to mod it

Please don't take offense. Just one man's opinion